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The Internet and other digital
sources of information are
widely used tools for research and other information needs. In recent years, many indexing and abstracting services
have
provided their content in electronic format. Instead of using a print
index, you can now search this material from your
computer. The advantages of electronic searching include greater
flexibility,
more up-to-date material, and, in some cases, access to the actual
articles or
materials, rather than just a citation.
The purpose of this website is to make
people aware about
the electronic databases, and to provide them a place where they can
get
websites for their daily use including
learning Internet, improving typing speed, reading newspapers, and
educational games for the kids. This website also designed to do a
survey on “Electronic Databases
and
Their Impact on the Library Services with Special Reference to Canada”,
that will help the people in finding the information in an easy way and
to effectively interact with today’s rapidly emerging computerized
retrieval resources. This study will also help the librarians in
choosing and evaluating databases.
What is
an Electronic
Database?
An electronic database
is a collection of data arranged in a systematic way to make the search
easy
and fast. In other words it is a computer-based
collection
or listing of information, usually organized with searchable elements
or
fields. The most common type of library database consists of records
describing
articles in journals or newspapers. Retrieval
from
this information store is basically accomplished through a matching
process.
The process of matching customer’s query against information in
databases is
the essence of computerized information retrieval.
Why use electronic databases?
Electronic Databases are
the major
sources of information.
Increasingly, information is being published only in electronic
formats. There
is coverage in virtually all areas of knowledge: science, engineering,
mathematics, medicine, agriculture, psychology, sociology, philosophy,
law,
business, economics, education and more. A single database may refer to
a
variety of sources, including periodical articles, books, government
documents,
industry reports, papers at meetings, newspaper items, films, video
recordings
etc.
With a terminal with Internet
connection you can be
seconds away from receiving valuable information on any imaginable
topic. These
rich and voluminous databases are stored in by the information
companies or
agencies known as retrieval services. Once you are connected to them,
much of
the world’s knowledge literally will be at your fingertips.
As an information source a database
may be shared by
thousands of users simultaneously, and it is available whenever the
retrieval service
is in operation. There is no limit to the number of times a database
can be
searched or the number of times an item can be displayed. Unlike a
library
book, databases do not deteriorate physically, nor can they be
misplaced,
stolen, or vandalized.
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